Prior to the conclusion of Event #32 of the 2010 World Series of Poker- the $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold ‘em 6-Max- many in the trend following poker media including our colleagues over at The Poker Beat, had begun to argue this Series should be called “The Year of Redemption,” but now thanks primarily to Men Nguyen and Jeffrey Papola, it seems a serious argument must be made instead for, “The Year of the One-Two Punch.”

New York’s Jeffrey Papola, less than one week after finishing second in Event #26, took first in Event #32 recently, allowing him to claim a top prize worth $667,433.  In winning the event, and earning his first bracelet, Papola not only jumped towards the top of the 2010 WSOP Player of the Year race but also denied Men “The Master” Nguyen his second bracelet of 2010, defeating him after a long, drawn-out, heads-up battle. 

Nguyen, now with a first and second place finish himself- as well as a less significant 46th place cash in Event #3- is also obviously in the running for Player of the Year and is in fact currently in a three-way tie for the top spot with Event #2 winner Michael Mizrachi and England’s James Dempsey, who remarkably already has a first and second place finish in 2010 as well.

568 players sat down to play in Event #32 before Papola claimed the title, a little less than half the number of Event #26, so altogether Papola had outlasted all but one of a total 1,813 players in two events- easily the most of the three "one-two punch" players of the Series thus far.  However, if someone like Tom “durrrr” Dwan can score a bracelet (and in the process according to rumor, ruin the days of many high stakes Vegas pros), his "one-two punch" is bound to be even more impressive, having already scored an infamous runner-up cash in Event #11, a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold ‘em tournament with 2,563 registered entrants.

Of course the odds of Dwan landing a second, more powerful, knockout punch in 2010 are fairly unlikely, yet with over 15 events still open for registration (as of this writing), it is quite possible someone may still score the one-two as well, and already no WSOP in recent memory has had so many players with first and second place finishes in the same year. 

Last year, what many called “The Year of the Multiples,” despite four players winning two or more bracelets there were only two players with first and second place cashes, Ville Wahlbeck and Vitaly Lunkin.  In 2007, only Jeffrey Lisandro could claim such a feat, and in 2008 it didn’t happen even once, arguably making this one of the strangest trends of 2010.

For more information on the 2010 WSOP, and the hotly contested Player of the Year race, visit www.wsop.com.